'Mom's Got Game' star headed to Flint to help local effort to feed homeless

Johnny Ross, known as "Manny Jay" on the show "Mom's Got Game," is planning to come to Flint March 8 to help feed the homeless. Courtesy

FLINT, MI — Some of the biggest names on the Oprah network show "Mom's
Got Game" hail from Flint. Johnny Ross isn't one of them, but he loves the city
anyway.

On March 8, the South Carolina native will be in the Vehicle City
helping a local organization, Team 810, feed the homeless.

"I am so dying to give back to Flint, Michigan," said Ross, who's
more commonly known as "Manny Jay," on "Mom's Got Game."

The show is about former WNBA player Pam McGee and her son, JaVale McGee, who is a 25-year-old center for the Denver Nuggets. Both are Flint natives.

While the reality show focuses on the mother-son relationship, Ross, Pam McGee's "Manny" (like a man-nanny, get it?) is always there. He's her personal assistant and "main man."

Ross got his first taste of his boss' hometown of Flint when he came to the city for a "Mom's Got Game"
watch party. At the the party were some members of Team 810, a local organization that makes
independent movies and plays, giving its proceeds to various charities.

"He's not from Flint, that's the biggest deal of it all," said
Yusuf Bauswell, who heads Team 810. "When I had him down here a few weekends
ago, Team 810 embraced him with so much love. ... He just turned into a friend of
mine."

In the past, Team 810 has donated money or goods to Whaley
Children's Center, Carriage Town Ministries and other organizations.

For their upcoming project, "The Mobile Movement Hot n Ready Day,"
they'll be traveling the city in search of the homeless, giving out free
pizzas. The "Hot n Ready" in the name of the day refers to Little Caesars' Hot-n-Ready
pizzas, 14-inch cheese or pepperoni pizzas that are cheaper than other options
at the restaurant.

Bauswell said they've raised enough money for about 100 pizzas so
far, and are still taking donations.

On March 8, Team 810 and volunteers will meet at Pentecostal Temple
Church at 1658 Delaware Avenue at 11:30 a.m. After a prayer, the group will break
into teams, armed with pizzas, and head into the city.

Bauswell said there are some more well-known areas where homeless
people gather, but said they'll also be searching for the homeless.

"We will be in abandoned houses. We've got homeless people on
Miller Road now by the mall. We'll be over the whole city. We'll be giving a
real diligent effort," he said.

Ross said he's excited to come back to Flint to help. He said he'd
heard of the city's reputation for its high crime rate and other negative
aspects, but said that wasn't his experience when he was here.

"They have the sweetest people in the world," he said. "Anything I
can do to help them, I'm willing to do."

The event also resonates with Ross' own life. As a younger man, he sold drugs, had multiple children by multiple women, and spent time in
jail. Since then, he said he's turned his life around, is involved with his
children, and wants others to know they can turn their lives around, too.

"I messed that up by doing that, and now I get to give back," he said.
"I want to speak out to them, (and say) you can be at the bottom ... and you can
still be all right."

Anyone looking to donate or get involved in the project can call
734-834-4736 or 810-449-4600.